In today’s rumor rundown, we look at a few more deals that didn’t materialize on trade deadline day and a couple of deals that were rumored to be out there but have been shot down by those that would likely know better than the sources who reported them.
Edmonton Oilers Were Not Moving Adam Larsson
Somehow, Jimmy Murphy said he’d heard that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers talked about a large deal on trade deadline day that involved Edmonton Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson being moved for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown. He did admit there were lots of moving pieces so he wasn’t suggesting it was a one-for-one deal, but he also suggested the sides could revisit talks in the offseason. This rumor has been shot down by almost everyone within the Edmonton media.
Not only would the Oilers look incredibly bad moving Larsson for Brown (the same Larsson that was acquired for Taylor Hall) but Edmonton just had Drake Caggiula and moved him. Caggiula was a very similar style player to Brown. Host of Oilers Now and color analyst for the Oilers, Bob Stauffer tweeted, at no point was Oilers Adam Larsson brought up in any trade talk at the trade deadline. The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson wrote, “Don’t even bother with talk, it’s not true.”
There was interest by the Oilers in Brown, but it was not for Larsson.
Related: Monday’s Mark Stone Trade: What We Didn’t Know
Montreal Canadiens Didn’t Want to Get Fleeced
A day after trade deadline day, GM of the Montreal Canadiens has discussed his team’s lack of action and said it was mainly due to the fact that had he paid the prices or done the deals that were offered to his team, he would have been roasted by fans and media alike.
Arpon Basu, who covers the Canadiens for The Athletic wrote the Canadiens were in on Matt Duchene, but the price was too high. Bergevin said teams were interested in prospects he had no desire to move so conversations were extremely short. And, Bergevin ultimately kept Jordie Benn because he didn’t want to mess with team chemistry.
Basu wrote a quote from Bergevin saying, “I’m telling you right now, if I would have done what I was asked for, you would probably call me an idiot. Which you probably do anyway.”
Related: NHL Rumors: Canucks, Panthers, Senators, Oilers, More
Why Ferland Didn’t Move
While the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators both made last-minute pitches for Micheal Ferland, Michael Smith is reporting the Carolina Hurricanes and GM Don Waddell said that they’ll hold contract extension talks with Ferland after the season and would like to extend him on a new deal.
Waddell said, “We believe in this team, and that’s why we stuck with them.”
It is believed the Predators offered Ryan Hartman to Carolina for Ferland prior to the team using Hartman to acquired Wayne Simmonds.
Related: Oilers Trade Deadline Must-Know Details
Trades That Almost Happened, But Didn’t
Elliotte Friedman had a Tuesday afternoon radio hit on Vancouver’s Sportsnet 650 was asked about any possible trades he’d heard almost took place but didn’t end up going through.
Friedman notes the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames were working on a deal for Jason Zucker and while he’s not sure why the trade never happened, it sounds like the two sides simply ran out of time. Friedman also said that Wayne Simmonds almost went to the Winnipeg Jets.
Friedman explained, “I think Winnipeg thought they had Wayne Simmonds. They were preparing it and Wayne Simmonds had to waive his no-trade to go to Winnipeg, and it never happened.” Friedman said that the reason Simmonds ended up in Nashville was that it wasn’t required he waive his no-trade clause to go there and Philly had fewer issues making that deal in the final hour.
Friedman also said that the Vancouver Canucks asked Alex Edler if he would waive his no-trade clause to go to either the Calgary Flames or the Pittsburgh Penguins and Edler declined.
Jim Parsons is a senior THW freelance writer, part-time journalist and audio/video host who lives, eats, sleeps and breathes NHL news and rumors, while also writing features on the Edmonton Oilers. He’s been a trusted source for five-plus years at The Hockey Writers, but more than that, he’s on a mission to keep readers up to date with the latest NHL rumors and trade talk. Jim is a daily must for readers who want to be “in the know.”
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